February 15, 2007

Three die as dengue cases keep on rising

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: Three people died of dengue as the number of suspected cases rose by 32 to 1,212 in the week to Feb 10 compared with the previous week, Health Ministry disease control director Datuk Dr Ramlee Rahmat said yesterday.
One death each occurred in Selangor, Kelantan and Johor – bringing to 19 the total number of people who had died of the disease so far this year, he said.
Dr Ramlee said in a statement that of the 1,212 suspected cases, 335 were confirmed as dengue cases.
He also said that all states recorded a rise in the number of cases except Selangor, Johor, Sarawak, Perlis and Negri Sembilan, where there was a drop.
“Up to last Saturday, the cumulative cases for this year was 7,806,” Dr Ramlee said. Most of the aedes mosquito breeding grounds were detected at construction sites (25%), factories (6%) and schools (3.6%).
He said intensive preventive and control measures were being carried out, particularly in Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, where the number of cases was high.